One of Santa Cruz’s designers has a pointy SV650 with a mountain bike carrier, he mentioned it in an interview a while back. No pics though. I looked into it for a while, but once you add in having to carry all your kit, and then stash the motorbike kit while you’re riding, then getting back into the motorbike kit while covered in mud after… No thanks. I did a couple of demo days by motorbike and that wasn’t a lot of fun even without having to transport the hardware around. So, got a car as well.
But if you want a sensible first bike, easily restricted, and you don’t decide to carry bikes on it then the SV should be your first point of call and will likely be your last, it’s pretty ideal. You can get the older model cheaply if you don’t mind a scabby one- and, well, it’s a Suzuki, scabby ones aren’t hard to find. Or you can spend more and get a nice one- they’re cheap new so a couple of grand gets something tidy.
They restrict well and easily- they still ride nicely with the restrictors in unlike Hornets and the like where you get left with a totally emasculated motor. Lots of already restricted ones already out there too. And they’re almost impossible to kill, the engine is tough as long as you keep it oiled (and don’t wheelie too much), the servicing’s simple, and they crash fantastically well because the frame and engine is so narrow. Not especially economic though- they can be, if you nurse them around everywhere but in practice you’ll end up turning the loud handle and the economy isn’t great when you work the engine.
Mind you a cheap old one will handle like it’s on drugs but that’s easily enough fixed. Jujuuk is spot on, SV650.org is an amazing forum, best owners’ group I’ve ever come across, I owe that place so much.
Honda’s Deuville is the ultimate practical bike though, they’re fantastic tools but expensive for that reason. Not an awful lot of fun to ride though.
Anyway, thus ends Northwind’s essay about SVs.